A Massachusetts Republican! I Don't Believe It!!!

And with almost all the votes in, it looks like Brown has won by almost five points! In a normal state, that'd be noteworthy, but in Massachusetts, that's cataclysmic for Democrats!

Don't believe all this crap, either, about how Coakley was just such an awful candidate. MA as a state has been sending awful candidates to Congress for years just because of that "D" after their name. No matter how liberal enablers in the media try to spin this, this election reflects deep dissatisfaction with the way the Democratic Party has been running the country.

What remains to be seen is if they will actually heed the message. Congressman Weiner of New York, about as liberal as they come, has apparently come out tonight and said his party should take a step back and make sure they're listening to what the people are saying. His party would do well to follow his advice.

And Democrats would do well not to follow advice such as this. I was amazed in reading this article just how many wrong-headed ideas this guy had. Let me illuminate you!

"Put it all together, and it should be relatively easy to pass health-care reform before the new senator takes office, even without engaging in any of the delaying tactics Republicans routinely use (recall that because of Republican challenges to his victory in the 2008 Senate contest in Minnesota, Al Franken didn't take office until eight months after the election)."

Leaving aside the apples to oranges comparison of the Franklin situation (which involved a recount, for God's sake, not just the certification of a clearly-won election), does anyone think voters would just forget that, after they clearly indicated their opposition to Obamacare in this election, Democrats rammed it through in the two weeks or so before their choice could manifest itself? I'd be willing to bet that if the Democrats weren't going to lose Congress already this year, that action would pretty much guarantee it.

"The second reason Democrats shouldn't hesitate to play a little hardball is this: They are doing what they were elected to do. Let's not forget that the American people elected a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate, and a Democratic president who pledged to reform health care when he ran. Does one election in one state change that?"

Why does what the majority wanted last election matter more than what they want now? Yes, voters voted for Obama, and a Democratic Congress, but mostly because they were fed up with President Bush and Republicans. It wasn't a total endorsement of of every liberal fever dream posted on Daily Kos or Huffington Post; I think the poll numbers for Obama and Congress over the last year proves that quite convincingly. So why listen to something the voters didn't say then as opposed to what they are clearly saying now?

"Or think about it this way. Let's say we count how many people each senator represents (I'm using 2009 census data and counting each individual as one-half a constituent for each of his or her two senators). Before today, Democratic senators supporting health-care reform represented a total of 196 million Americans (or 64 percent), while Republican senators opposing reform represented a total of 110 million Americans (or 36 percent). If Brown wins, Democratic senators supporting reform will represent 193 million Americans (63 percent), while Republicans opposing reform will represent 113 million (37 percent)."

OK, this is somewhat beside the point, but it needs to be said. The next time someone says "Oh the Senate is undemocratic because Senators representing less than X percent of the population can stop legislation", do me a favor and throw a rock at them? (My inner Shelly is telling me that that last sentence is too inflammatory, and that you should just tell them to read the Constitution) Why? Because the freakin' Senate isn't based on population! It's two Senators per state! If you want a legislative body based on population, well geez, I guess you're out of luck... oh wait, we DO have one! It's called the House of Representatives! This goes double for the idiots out there talking about how theoretically Senators representing less than 10% of the population could filibuster legislation; never mind the fact that there has never been and never will be a coalition of Senators who only represent small states (because most of the small population states, for instance Vermont and Wyoming, have nothing in common beside the fact that they have few people living in them).

But besides that, again, notice this slight of hand: "Democratic senators supporting health-care reform represented a total of 196 million Americans" (emphasis added). Again, over 50% of the American people are against this bill! There might be a point buried somewhere in there if 60% of Americans wanted Obamacare and were having their will thwarted, but they aren't! Well, actually, in point of fact, they ARE! Somewhere between 50 and 60% of Americans want the bill killed!

Well, anyway, that's enough for tonight. New ball game tomorrow!

Happy New Year!!!

And Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas while we're at it, since I managed to miss both of those too.

Well, I have an excuse! Absolutely NOTHING has been going on in my life the last two months! I haven't seen anybody, I haven't gone anywhere, I haven't done anything... OK, no, that's not quite true, now, is it?

The last two months have been jam-packed with stuff for Shelly and I, actually. In fact, not six hours ago, my sister and three of her children (Christopher, Julia, and Sean Thomas) departed for Maryland after an incredibly busy weekend! Arriving Friday night, Shelly and I kept them busy with trips to the Asheboro Zoo on Saturday and a visit to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences yesterday. I did most of the driving (I love Danielle's new Chevy Traverse), and discovered that my next, child-centric car WILL have sound-proofing installed between the driver's and passenger's compartments; I guess intercoms will be allowed, provided they are password protected. But anyway, here are a few pictures:

Um... well, you can't tell from the pictures, but we did actually see animals at the zoo.








Traveling backwards one weekend found Shelly and I visiting with a very-pregnant Martha, who asked for and received a promise from me to update my blog. Also, she received unasked-for all her Christmas presents from Shelly and I and Erika and Jason and Charlotte:
We all also got to finally see Matt and Martha's new house, which they moved into just shortly after my last blog entry (just to give you an idea of the immense passage of time we're dealing with here). Very nice, so nice in fact that it set off pangs of jealousy in her two girlfriends, prompting awkward pronouncement on the ride home, such as "(snippy hypothetical comment deleted due to Shelly's use of her veto power)." Jason and I felt duly chastised.

Going back into the Christmas Season, Shelly and I spent an eventful week up in Maryland this year, where we enjoyed such niceties as meeting baby Annabelle for the first time during our visit to Abington, having dinner at the Chart House with Law-School Melissa and her significant other David (which gave me the opportunity to bring up wildly-inappropriate stories for David's enjoyment), Christmas Eve at my brother's house, Boxing Day at my aunt's, a trip to the gun range with five old friends, my first good Maryland snow in over five years, and a wondrous three-hour traffic jam through northern Virginia on the way up to do all of that. But hey, you're not here for a synopsis are you?

Ah, they're more or less in order. You know, given that pictures are worth a thousand words, I'm really making an investment in this entry, aren't I?

The month of November saw us go to Charlotte to celebrate with Shelly's side of the family; actually early December saw that too, come to think of it. Also, my Aunt Marie came out to visit from New Mexico in early November (as in, the weekend after I last blogged), and I made an after-work drive up to Maryland to see her for yet another particularly frantic weekend. I would post pictures, but blogger for some reason puts them in at the TOP of the entry every time I upload them, and I have to drag them all the way to the bottom, and every time it throws everything else out of order! Just get on Facebook and look at them there (or bribe someone who's on Facebook to show them to you, ya darn luddite!)

Alright, now that two month's worth of personal stuff is out of the way, let's talk politics!

The big story right now is the Massachusetts Senate race. At this point, it looks absolutely conceivable that Scott Brown (a Republican!) can win this race. Again, lest the first sentence in this paragraph left you uninformed of where this is happening, it’s in Massachusetts. MASS-A-CHU-SETTS.

This time last week, I would have said I couldn't see him winning, although at the time, I did say to Shelly “If I see one more poll showing him close, I’ll start to believe it.” There have been multiple polls since then showing him tied or outright winning. But his victory, while monumental, is not absolutely required for America to make its point: WE DO NOT WANT THIS HEALTH CARE BILL!

And make no mistake, that’s exactly what is being said here. Brown has made his opposition and promise to filibuster Obamacare a centerpiece of his campaign. The result: He’s surging ahead in a state that last sent a Republican to the Senate in 1972, last voted for a Republican President in 1984, and has three times as many registered Democrats as Republicans.

Congressional Democrats aren’t stupid; they're getting the message. They also know that, even if Martha Coakley (Brown’s opponent) pulls it out, a Democrat winning by 3-5 points in Massachusetts (again: Massachusetts!) is equivalent to a Democrat losing by 15 points in Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Missouri, or any other competitive state. In Virginia this past November, Democrat Creigh Deeds had numbers nearly identical to Coakley’s as far as how fired up his own party was, how many Independents supported him, and how energized the opposition was, and he got CRUSHED 58-41%! The only reason this MA race is even close is because of the state that it’s in.

Furthermore, this race has got to leave an icy feeling in the stomach of every Democrat up for election this year. Not only because of the implications of a Democrat losing in MA (if MA isn’t safe, then nowhere is), but because of Obama’s reaction to it. At first, after repeatedly promising wavering Dems in the House and Senate that he'd campaign for them next year if they took a hard vote on Obamacare, the President at first opted to stay out of the whole thing, wary of damaging his own prestige by being tied too closely with a potentially devastating loss. Probably realizing the "every man for himself" message that decision was sending, Obama sprung into action and… recorded a tepid ad in support of Coakley. Only after the deep implications of a loss in MA finally penetrated the increasingly (and unbelievably, really) thick heads of the national Democratic Party did he finally get around to visiting the state, a grand total of two days before the election. Wow… that must have certainly been reassuring to every Senator and Representative who hails from a competitive district who happens to have a “D” after their name!

Well, that’s the state of play at the moment. I don’t know about you, but I know where I’ll be next Tuesday night: Watching those election returns! And yes, I WILL be blogging tomorrow night, believe me!